Looking for a super easy, cheat Italian sauce/gravy/marinara sauce recipe on the fly? Look no further. This is my oh crap I have no dinner ready and what can I make fast so everyone will be happy? I started working in May (outside of the house) and juggling my schedule/dinner/life has been a struggle on some days, I will not lie. Despite this being super easy, I wanted to share because let’s face it… we all need a quick go-to that will impress your family while saving you a ton of time. Let’s get started!

This recipe is so easy. Pesto is one of our favorite sauces to make because we grow so much basil in our garden. Pesto is perfect in lieu of marinara sauce on pasta or on pizza crust. It’s also great on new potatoes in a salad, drizzled on roasted veggies or as a condiment on a sandwich or panini. So versatile and unbelievably easy to make.

If you’re new to cooking… try this recipe out. Seriously. We also use this as a dip for raw veggies. Plus with no dairy, it’s a great summer bbq recipe idea. I can go on and on… but I won’t. Take the recipe amounts as mere guide. I typically do handfuls versus cups. I do want to share this tip before I get into the specific recipe… when using this as a sauce on pasta, reserve some cooking liquid from the noodles. Once you’ve drained the noodles, add the pesto to toss along with 2-3 tbl of the cooking water to thin the sauce out. That’s it folk. Love you, enjoy!

Lemon Basil Creamy Pasta. Vegan and gluten free. I originally created this recipe during the spring last year for Lucy Activewear but since they’ve transitioned over to North Face, and the posted recipes have been removed, I’m adding them back to my website so they’re still available for you.

This pasta dish would be perfect for your spring brunches, girls lunches, family dinner or for your Easter celebration. This sauce is so easy to make plus the creamy texture comes from cashews, soaked, versus heavy cream. The sauce has a lovely cheese-based flavor thanks to the nutritional yeast, tartness from the fresh lemon juice with a tangy flavor from the Dijon. Then for an extra punch of flavor I added some fresh basil leaves, which also adds to the brightness to the dish. This sauce can be prepared ahead of time to save time and just topped on your freshly cooked pasta. I prefer wide noodle pastas for this substantial sauce. Bon appétit friends.

If you’ve ever eaten at By Chloe, you’ve had the pleasure of trying beet ketchup. I had never even heard of it prior to eating at Chloe’s restaurant but once taste… and Bill & I were head over heels.

So that’s where the inspiration for this yummy recipe started. I researched several recipes online and this was the final creation. Pretty easy. I also went the spicy route but you can easily omit if you don’t prefer spice. This ketchup is perfect with roasted veggies, especially sweet potatoes! My husband loved it on his vegan burger as well.

This has been one hell of a week. No joke. I got hit with some weird virus that is like someone is manipulating a crazy voodoo doll of me minute to minute. Every morning I’ve felt good, not great. I’ve been able to cook and prep food for clients and my family. But then by 3 every afternoon… nausea, aches, pains, fatigue hits like a ton of bricks. Then put that record on repeat… So today I’ve managed to eat 2 whole meals and feel decent. May the healthy body gods be shining their light upon me. I’m not a good sick person. However I did manage 14.5 hours of sleep last night (insert shocking face emoji here). Onward & upward.

I am the queen of roasting all the veggies – seriously, all the time. I’ve been using a mixture of ACV and hummus to dress them but have been craving dill lately. So I grabbed some fresh dill at the market Saturday and the gears went into high gear. This is not a Tzatziki but similar type of sauce. I love this on salads in lieu of dressing, adding a drizzle on roasted or raw veggies… my husband was even dipping veggie chips into it. Whatever floats your boat. Super easy recipe and the flavors develop nicely the next day.

Happy Friday friends! I apologize for my absence on social media and my blog but I feel like life has reached the fever pitch and here I sit. I’m rushing to post this awesome recipe with you all before I resume graduation party food prep. Our oldest graduated this week and we celebrate her this weekend and I’m so excited. Surrounded by friends and family, sun is shining, I’m excited for her party.

This recipe has been in my wheelhouse for years. I constantly revamp and re-work. When oxo offered to send me a chef’s mandoline I was all over it. I’m a huge fan of all things they make. Practical, functional and top quality for exceptional prices. So I instantly thought of zucchini noodles and this dish along with just a big bowl of zoodles with marinara because this momma sometimes likes easy lunch or dinner ideas! So let’s get started.

Isn’t she a beauty?! And remember, using a mandoline makes baking potato, beet, veggie chips oh so easy!

Incorporating flavor into existing recipes or food preparation can seem daunting but going to back to basics can be quite impactful and so simple to do. I’ve long loved Maille Dijon and have created many recipes using their flavorful Dijons. And let me digress by saying not all Dijons on the market are created equal. La Maison Maille has been producing for more than 267 years. The tradition is kept alive by the team of experts who create the products today, preserving the excellence that defines La Maison Maille in a continual quest for innovation and perfection. It is the attention to detail that sets La Maison Maille apart – the carefully selected ingredients, the nuances of the recipes, the expertise in the methods used and the elegant black and gold packaging.

Maille is currently running a Flavor Heroes Contest that you can enter. All you need to do it tell them how you use a Maille product to enhance your favorite dishes and you can be featured in a recipe video along with winning a 5 piece signature Le Creuset cookware. Click here to enter! And now let me share some ways I incorporate their products into 3 of my favorite dishes.

Spinach & basil ricotta baked lasagna. This recipe is both gluten and dairy free – along with being completely vegan.

As you all know, I’ve been experimenting quite a bit with vegan lasagna lately. I made my own tofu ricotta here and as wonderful as it turned out – this one has taken first place. I recently tried Kite Hill nut-based ricotta that I picked up at Whole Foods. I was so excited to try it. My first recipe was this Ricotta Mousse. My daughter devoured the entire thing! My faith had immediately been restored in ricotta that wasn’t dairy based. Next up, I started pondering my next recipe, after all I had bought a case of it because we loved it so much. What to do?!

Spinach and basil ricotta is very classic combination in Italian cooking. I knew I wanted to go down that road but stuffed shells or lasagna. My family voted… & lasagna it was. And from there this super easy recipe was born. Don’t stress the quantities, but taste as you go and adjust to your preference. The joy of cooking is the flexibility that you have unlike in baking, which is more exact.[Read more…]

Vegan & gluten free “meaty” lasagna. I grew up with horrible lasagna. I mean HORRIBLE! From my childhood on I’ll admit, I would shy away from this Italian dish with every fiber of my being. My Italian side of my family, that knew how to cook, never made it. We always ate ravioli. So going vegan and gf, this wasn’t a dish that I was going to miss out on.

My oldest asked for lasagna recently. I was a bit taken aback because I wasn’t sure where she ever developed a penchant for it. I’ll be honest, I blew her request off. Then while shopping in a local grocery store that I never really frequent, I spied some gluten free noodles. Perhaps the universe was sending me a signal. I embraced it and gave it a whirl.

If you follow me on Snapchat or Insta stories, you saw my over-the-top review over the recipe. I knew I had to recreate it for you all after over 200 requests. My disclaimer: it may not look “picture perfect” but you will be swooning over this one! I pinky promise.

I do want to apologize for the lack of staging the perfect photos but light was dwindling and I was rushing to get each step documented for you. Plus lasagna is not the most photogenic food out there.[Read more…]

Over the month of December, my family had the pleasure to test out fresh food home delivery from Blue Apron. Admittedly, I’m quite critical about food, quality, packaging and presentation due to the fact that I receive a lot of food samples/products from companies all over the world. My family was so impressed with the fresh food, quality, packaging, timeliness that we ordered several gift cards for holidays gifts for friends and family to channel their inner chef. Let’s face it, less trips to the grocery store during the crazy rush and fresh, new recipes in hand. I was smitten with the entire concept.

So many people think they can’t cook, prefer not to go to the grocery store and gravitate towards eating out or getting take-out. Does this sound familiar? But what if a box of fresh food packaged with everything you need, no waste, would be shipped directly to you when you want with the meals you chose? It’s a game-changer – even for a foodie like me who loves grocery shopping/prepping food for my family.

So let me tell you how the whole process worked. You sign up online and select how many people are in your family, dietary needs/restrictions/preferences and then you select meals and delivery dates. That’s it! The insulated package is delivered right to your door.

Inside the box you will find recipe cards, prepackaged ingredients & a tiny brown paper back with knick knacks (sauces etc.). Everything was incredibly fresh.
I will admit, everyone was very willing to participate in cooking the meals once the box arrived. Normally my family isn’t this intrigued. Everyone was reading recipe cards and claiming what meals they wanted to prepare and eat.

The recipe cards were very easy to follow with many detailed photos. Each ingredient is labeled and you can easily identify which veggie went with which recipe. Minimal prep was required and within a short amount of time your meal was ready. They even include bread/rolls etc. to finish off the dish. We tried several recipes and our favorites by far with the broccoli and white bean burgers and the potato soup.

Some other delicious recipes we tried…

Blue Apron wanted to share a discount with my readers. They’re offering $30 off your first order or 3 free meals with a subscription. So are you ready to channel your inner-chef or get inspired by some new recipes?